Avatar
by truelove333
Summary: This is greatly influenced by the movie Avatar. Rumford Gold is signed up to bring peace between the humans and the native people on the strange planet of Pandora. He ends up getting lost on a simple mission, and falls right into the hands of the Na'vi people chief's daughter, Bellina. He learns their ways and falls in love her and the forest.
1. Chapter 1

**I think I'm just going to start turning all of my favorite tv shows and movies into rumbelle stories now. Let me know what you think of this idea!**

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The year was 2123 and Earth was in ruin. There was no more green, and no matter what country, what city, there was a thick layer of smog wherever you turned. The people at NASA had made the discovery of a new planet, it's atmosphere and basic geology were almost incomparable to Earth and fifteen years ago, the government sent out a spaceship full of scientists and soldiers to the planet. They tore down a portion of the planet's forest and built a decently sized structure to live in. They discovered that there was an indigenous group of people called the Na'vi. The scientists that went on the trip managed to collect a few DNA samples from the creatures and with the help of some of the greatest minds in the world, they managed to combine human DNA with the DNA of the natives, allowing scientists and soldiers to have two bodies with only one mind. It was a very complex procedure that included the most advanced technology of the century.

With the ability to blend in better with the indigenous people, they were able to learn their language and teach them English. They created a truce, but it was cracking. The Na'vi's leader was growing tiresome of the soldiers violence and disrespect for their nature and customs. That's how the war began. That's how Rumford Gold, former General in the U.S. Army, made his way the strange new planet known as Pandora. Rumford was not known for his skills on the battlefield, but he had a way with words that nobody else possessed. They had created a native body for him and had planned on sending him out with the trusted scientists to try and come to an agreement.

The last thing Rumford had in mind was getting involved in another war. The last one had taken his son and his leg. He has a cheap prosthetic, that causes him to walk with a limp. The only reason that he agreed to the assignment was that his son had always wanted to go on adventures, and Rumford had hoped that him doing this was enough adventure for both of them.

When the spacecraft landed, he wasn't exactly sure what to expect. He put his breathing mask on, threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and waited for the steel door to open. A burst of white light blinded him temporarily as the door fell open. The first thing Rumford saw was the grey building which he would be residing in for the remainder of his days. The second thing he saw were the luscious green tops of the tallest trees he'd ever seen. Above the trees were strange dragon-like birds flying. He just wished that his son could be there with him.

"Come on soldier, let's move!" Rumford was called back to reality and began to follow the rest of the troops out. There were gun machines everywhere, snipers posted at every point, and there were beautifully colored and shaped arrows in the tires of all the bulldozers. He got his instructions from one of the woman at the desk inside and reported to the lab where he'd be doing most of his work.

Walking into the lab, he immediately felt out of his comfort zone. There were tubes and machines and even some computers he'd never laid eyes on before. Within a few seconds a man named David walked up to him and started to explain how things worked.

"Regina Mills is who you'll be getting your orders from. Your Avatar body is ready, you'll be able to test it out tomorrow. Regina will explain how it works and things you have to do to prepare." David kept rambling on while Rumford followed dutifully behind him, tuning out his voice and taking in his surroundings. Then he saw it. His Avatar. They explained it briefly to him before the journey. How it was directly linked to him and his brain, how he was the only one who could control it. It's face definitely was the same as his. The eleven feet tall blue body and long black braided pony tail were a bit different than what he was used to, and definitely looked younger than he was, but as long as he could have both his legs back, he wasn't about to complain.

One of the bed-like chambers he noticed earlier opened up to reveal a woman probably a decade or so younger than him with black hair and a bad attitude. The little scientists scattered as she sat up in the container. "Regina" David called out. "This is our newest recruit, Rumford."

"What a ridiculous name" she sneered.

"Well thank you I've always liked it" he bit right back.

"As happy as you are being here, I don't need you. I've got the situation under control" she informed him proudly.

Rumford laughed at her confidence. "Do you now? I was practically begged to come here and resolve this little problem of yours, so please, just tell me what I need to do, so I can do it and be done with it."

"You think it's that simple?" she yelled at him. "These idiots with guns are destroying my life's work! I built a school and taught the native our language, I gained their trust, they told me stories and shared secrets about the land with me, and then that imbecile Jones, charges in and nearly destroys their home! I haven't been allowed back into the village since, and you're supposed to fix everything!?"

Rumford looked down at his feet and smiled. "That was the deal, dearie. I never, break my deals" he swore to her. "Now, are you going to debrief me on this mission or aren't you?" he asked sarcastically.

Regina glared at him, but proceeded to show him the ins and outs of her science. Regina had been on this planet for fifteen years and at first her love of science was enough to get her through the near isolation she had felt, but now she was bitter. Her husband, Daniel, was supposed to come over on the next shuttle, after the crew she was with got everything settled. And after five years, when the shuttle arrived, Daniel wasn't on it. He sent a message with one of his comrades that said he had been offered a better paying job in Venezuela, courtesy of Regina's mother, and he took it. Daniel died in a plane crash on his way there.

"So how does it work exactly?" Rumford asked.

Regina sighed heavily, having explained the procedure so many times before. "The first connection you make is the most important. This machine," she gestured to the bed-like thing she had been lying in just moments ago. "once it's closed and you are relaxed and your mind is blank, it will... "transport" your mind to your Avatar's body. Does that clear things up enough?"

"Crystal clear, dearie" he smirked.

Regina rolled her eyes, "Report back here tomorrow morning, 8 o'clock sharp." Rumford nodded and exited the lab. He was flagged down by some army dog and reluctantly followed him. He was brought to the General's office. 'This should be good' he thought to himself.

"You requested my presence?" he called out.

The General, who was at least 10 years his junior, looked up from his desk. "Ah yes, Gold, is it?" Rumford nodded. "Have a seat please" he gestured to the empty chair. The man had slick black hair and an evilly crooked smile. "So, you were assigned to the nerds in the lab? Shame, an experienced man such as yourself could be far more useful in the war room."

Rumford scoffed, "They brought me here to end the war that hasn't even begun yet. I've retired from my backstabbing days, so you'll have to find another nerd to poison. Besides, I don't believe in shedding blood when solutions can be discussed civilly."

The man glared at Rumford, looking ready to strike him. "Look here, Gold, everyone has a price, it's just a matter of time before I find it and use it to my advantage." Rumford stood, rubbing his knee in slight pain. The prosthetic may help him walk, but it makes the injury no less painful. "There it is, your leg. If you do a job for me, I'll see to it that your leg is well taken care of when you rotate home, it won't hurt you in the least."

Rumford laughed, "You think I give a damn about this" he pointed to his leg. "And I'm not going home. Why would I go home to nothing?" He began walking out of the office, "You'll have to do better than that General" he called out as he slammed the door. Right now all he needed to do was sleep, he had to be up early after all.

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He watched as his Avatar body was moved from its tank to a bed in the room over. He stared blankly at the million buttons Regina was pressing in order to get the link ready. "You'll have to take off your leg" she told him. Sighing in frustration, he did as she commanded and climbed onto the bed. She pulled down some kind of blinking light contraption. "Keep your head down, and let your mind go blank, shouldn't be too hard for you" she quipped.

"Kiss my a–" he began to say before she closed him in. He let his eyes wander, wondering if some kind of bright light would shine through. After a minute or so, he decided to just close his eyes and wait for something to happen. And something happened.

When he opened his eyes again, he was disoriented. Everything was a blur, and all he could see were two nurses standing over him. "How are you feeling Rumford?" one of them asked. He heard a snap, and felt his ear twitch. "Reflex seems normal" she muttered to herself. At first Rumford had thought that something had went wrong. When he sat up, he saw that things had actually gone right. He was an eleven feet tall, blue alien. He smiled for the first time in years at the sight of having two legs. He couldn't help but wiggle his toes, he was eager to get up and walk around. The nurses still had a bunch of stupid tests to run, but he could care less. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed himself up. His first step was shaky, and the nurses were trying to get him back in a sitting position.

He saw Regina watching from behind the window and he walked over to her, without a limp, grinning like a mad man. "This is great" he said before opening the door to go outside. Regina just smirked before turning and getting into her own linking bed.

Rumford ran through the grass, jumped and leaped across pathways, anything he couldn't do as a human, he would make up for with this new body. He stopped when he reached a garden of sorts, squishing his toes in the soil. He had forgotten what it had been like to have two legs. "Hey Gold!" he heard someone call him. He looked up and saw another avatar walking towards him dressed in khaki shorts and a tank top that had Yale printed across the chest.

"Regina?" he asked.

"Who'd you expect dearie?" she teased him, throwing an odd looking fruit that was bluish purple in color at him. He caught it with ease, bringing it up to his nose to smell. "Motor control's looking good" she praised. Rumford smirked and bit into the fruit, moaning at the delicious taste.

He was given clothes for his avatar, and after finally finishing his basic motor tests, he was brought to a cot in the building where the avatars were kept. Not used to having a tail, or hair long enough that it reached his backside, he rolled onto his side. He lifted his pony tail to have it rest over his stomach, and when he lifted it, the end opened up to reveal what looked like a dozen miniature glowing rat tails. "Don't touch that you'll go blind" Regina ordered him as she passed his cot.

"That's not freaky" he said sarcastically.

"Alright kiddies, lights out. See you at dinner" Regina told everyone as she turned off the lights.

As soon as Rumford shut his eyes, his human self woke up. He felt disoriented and had a slight headache, and his body felt exhausted, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Regina was already standing by his link, handing him his leg. "You'll be accompanying me into the forest tomorrow along with David. Pilot Emma Swan will be flying us in. This little adventure will tell me if you have what it takes" she smirked at him.

He smirked right back, adjusting his leg, leaning over to pick up his cane. "I look forward to it."


	2. Lost in the Jungle

He made his way to the lab, running a bit late. Regina gave him a look when he finally arrived, but said nothing about his tardiness. He jumped into the link, and woke up in his Avatar's body on the cot where he had last been. Regina and David were there in their own bodies and together they made their way to the flight deck. Emma Swan looked at tough around the edges as she was. She didn't give a shit about anything that didn't directly effect her.

She had grown up in the foster system and spent most of her life searching for her parents, but never having any luck. She decided to join the air force when she was in her early twenties, and that's how she landed the gig here on Pandora. Rumford was amazed by the forest as they flew over the trees. Everything was so vibrantly colorful, nothing like the slabs of grey concrete they had back on Earth.

After the chopper had landed, Regina, David, and Rumford head out into forest. Rumford was the only one armed, and though he was a more peaceful soldier, this land was new and every snap of a twig was making him jump. "Will you calm down Gold? You're making me nervous" Regina yelled at him, taking the lead of their trek. Rumford was surprised when they stopped. Regina and David squatted down and dug out some equipment form their packs.

"What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be taking me to these people so I can..."

"_I'm _supposed to take you?" Regina interrupted him. "They have cut us off. We are risking millions of dollars just by sitting under this tree and you thought I was going to lead you to them?" Rumford stood his ground, but not saying anything. "If you are meant to end this, then they'll find you. For now, stand watch" she ordered him.

Rumford turned from them, agitated. Watching a couple of scientists as they stuck some needles into a couple of tree roots was not exactly what he had in mind. He walked a couple steps away from them and came across these strange looking plants. He reached out to touch one, but it recoiled at his touch, sinking into the soil. Smiling in amusement, he reached out to touch another, and all the plants around him sunk into the ground, and he regretted doing so.

Behind the plants a couple hundred feet away from him stood a herd of beasts. Or that's what he called them. They looked like a mix between an elephant, a rhino, and oddly enough a hammer head shark. He held up his gun immediately as one of the animals dug his hooves into the dirt, preparing to charge.

"Don't shoot!" he heard Regina shout to him. Her and David were hiding behind a nearby tree. "Don't shoot, you'll piss him off" she ordered again, but Rumford didn't budge.

"It's already pissed off" he informed her.

"That armor is too thick, Gold. It's a territorial threat display, don't shoot or he'll charge." Gold let his gun drop and held up his hands in surrender.

"So what do you want me to do? Dance with it?" he asked annoyed.

Regina looked from him to the beast. "Just, stand your ground" she advised him.

Gold did exactly that, but the beast had other ideas. It was charging him, and so Rumford acted on instinct. He charged the beast back, yelling like a wild-man. It backed off, and Rumford felt insanely proud of himself. Grinning like an idiot after the retreating herd. Until something else jumped over his head. This one looked down right mean, it's skin black and smooth like a jaguar, but with six legs, and three times the normal size. It hissed at the herd, claiming Rumford for himself, and Gold turned to Regina. "What about this one? Run, shoot, what?" he asked in a panic.

"Run! Definitely run!" she screamed at him. Gold wasted no time, turning and sprinting in the opposite direction. He tried to lose the creature by swerving in and out of trees, but it was too fast. He slid through some roots, that acted like a cage around a tree and just started shooting. But the bullets had no effect on this animal and soon enough it was able to rip apart the roots and break his gun in two. Rumford escaped out of the roots, but it was too fast and hit him to the ground with its paw. It latched onto Rumford's pack with its teeth and started swinging him around. He was getting disoriented, but had enough presence of mind to unbuckle himself from his pack. He grabbed onto a shoulder strap and swung himself a far distance away, but the creature was quick to recognize his trick. Rumford ran with everything he had. He saw the top of a waterfall just ahead and knew that was his way out. He didn't hesitate when he saw the ledge. The creature nearly snatched his tail before he plummeted toward the water. He took in a deep breath before he was submerged. When he surfaced, the current was pulling him farther down the river, but he saw a low tree branch and managed to grab ahold of it and pull himself up onto shore. He looked back up from where he jumped to see a very angry looking alienated jaguar hissing at him.

He took in his surroundings. How was he supposed to get back to the helicopter? He started walking in a random direction, hoping it would lead him somewhere. He found another small river, and bent down to take a drink. At least he wouldn't go thirsty. He looked at the sky, and saw the sun getting low. The first thing he thought to do was try to get a fire going and find a decent area for a shelter. It would be getting dark and he wanted to be prepared.

He walked a little more before deciding to try and set up a camp site of sorts. In one of the many trees above him. One of the natives sat on a branch, bow and arrow at the ready. She stared down at Rumford with disgust before pulling back on her bowstring. Just as she was about to release the arrow, a woodsprite, a seed with strings like jelly-fish tentacles, came down and rested on her arrowhead for a brief second before floating off again. The tension in her stance ceased and she lowered her weapon, looking back down at the man she was about to kill.

The darker the forest became, the creepier it became. He could hear howling, that sounded similar to a dog. It was surrounding him and he knew whatever it was, they were looking to make him dinner. He was struggling to get his torch lit, having to light it from scratch after losing the matches that were in his pack. He could hear the animals getting closer and his breathing became harder, sweat forming on his brow. Just as he was about to give up the spark lit, and he could see.

There were at least 10 dog-like creatures around him. He had sharpened the opposite end of his torch and he had his knife still, but that was all he had. The circled him, growling, but not attacking. "I don't have all god damn night!" he screamed at them. "Come on!" The first one to leap at him got a knife in its heart. The second a hard kick in the mouth. The third a stab in the leg with his torch, and that one ran away with his only source of light. He was fighting them with his bear hands. He felt one bite his shoulder and he yelled out in pain, before pushing it off and throwing it into the nearby river. When he looked up there was another leaping straight at him, but it was stopped in the air by and arrow. He looked behind him to find the native that had been secretly watching him. He watched as she took on the last seven dogs, without any assistance. She killed two more of the things before the rest ran off scared.

The first dog she shot, lay whimpering helplessly on the ground, the arrow stuck in its lung. She kneels down beside it and unsheathes a knife, putting it out of its misery. She then proceeded to whisper over it, in a language Rumford didn't understand, but he assumed it was some sort of prayer.

"I know you probably don't understand this" Rumford began to say, trying to get her attention but she had moved on to the next dog that lay in a motionless heap on the ground. "I just want to say thank you."

Her head flinched slightly toward him, but when she stood, she didn't walk towards him. She went to retrieve his torch and Rumford assumed she was bringing it to him, for it was still burning. But she scowled at it, and threw it into the water before moving on to the last dog, muttering the same gibberish over it. Rumford debated going after the torch, and in the end decided it wasn't worth it. All too soon, the woman was up again and walking past him briskly. "Hey, wait!" he yelled pushing through some brush to catch up to her. "Wait, I just want to say thank you" he called again, reaching out to grab her arm. She was a step ahead of him though, and before he could get a hold of her she had smacked him across the face with her bow, sending him flying to the ground in surprise.

"You don't thank for this" she spat at him in perfect English. "This is sad. Very sad only!"

Rumford held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, I'm sorry."

"This is all your fault, they did not need to die" she explained to him calmly.

Rumford scoffed, "My fault? They attacked me, how am I the bad guy?"

She hit him in the chest with her bow and he yelled. "Your fault!"

"Okay, okay. Let me ask you this though, if you love your little forest friends, why not let them just kill me?"

The woman looked him over, offering a hand to help him stand. "Why save you?" she asked for clarification. He nodded with a smirk on his face. "You have a strong heart" she told him, still avoiding making direct eye contact with him. "But stupid, ignorant like a child." Rumford looked at her with confusion and awe. " You're like a baby, making noise, don't know what to do. You should not come here! All of you. You only come and make problems" she told him before turning and walking away from him.

Rumford swore under his breath before following her. "Wait! I'm here to stop the problems" he tried to tell her. When he realized that he had followed her out onto a bridge of tree branches high above the forest ground, he looked down and become unbalanced. The next step he took could have been fatal if the woman hadn't been there to grab him and pull him back.

She let go of his shirt and crossed her arms across her chest. "You're like a baby" she told him again.

"You know" Rumford started, "if I'm like a baby, maybe you should teach me" he suggested.

She looked him up and down, before turning. "Sky people cannot learn, you do not see" she informed him as she continued walking.

Rumford set after her again, this time more cautious of his surroundings. "Then, teach me to see" he told her.

She laughed at his comment, "No one can teach you to see."

Rumford went into a trot to catch up with her. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot" he said. She stopped and turned to him. He extended his hand to her. "I'm Rumford, Rumford Gold." She looked at his hand and then back to his eyes.

"You should not be here" she scolded him.

"Then take me with you" he countered.

She pushed him a little backwards, "No! You go back." As she was about to turn and walk away from him again, she saw them. Several woodsprites pulsing down from the trees, and they were all gathering around Rumford. He swatted at them. "No!" she screamed and grabbed his wrist to stop him from doing it again. They landed all over his body, and when she was sure he wouldn't foolishly swat at them anymore she released his hand. Rumford spread out his arms and embraced the creatures.

Clearing his throat, "Umm, what are they?" he asked.

She was gazing at him with wonder, "Seeds of the sacred tree, very pure spirits."

They floated around him for a moment more before dispersing. Rumford shook his head, "What just happened?" he asked her.

She was shaking her head too, but quickly rebounded and grabbing his hand pulled him forward. "Come" she told him when he wouldn't move his feet. They were running now, over the branches, the woman obviously in a hurry.

"So what's your name?" Rumford asked her as he tried to keep up the pace.

He could tell she was about to answer when his legs suddenly became bound by rope. Someone had ambushed him, and now he was falling. He landed in he dirt with a loud thump, and immediately moved to unwrap his legs. He pulled out his knife and stood up, looking around. At least ten men on horses came through the bushes, and ten more came on foot from behind him. While Rumford was proud, but he wasn't foolish and so he dropped his knife.

Just as the leader of their pack was about to shoot him, the woman jumped down from the branch and stood guard in front of him. She started speaking to the man in what Rumford assumed was their language.

"Gas' tou, what are you doing here?" she asks the lead man bitingly.

He swings off his horse with grace, his body language tall, strong, and proud, and Rumford knows he must be of importance. "I will kill this demon as a lesson to the others." He draws his bow, but the woman stops him.

"Stop!" she shouts, "There has been a sign. This is a matter for the Tsahik." The man looks over the woman and Rumford is becoming panicked.

He walks back to his horse and mounts it, "Bring him" he demands.

Two other men come from behind him and grab his arms, pushing him ahead of them. "What's going on?" he shouts to the woman, but she does not answer. Before too long, he is being lead into a tree, what he assumes to be the people's home. The men push him down on his knees and when he looks up, he knows he is looking at their chief. The chief has cold eyes and is covered in bright red feathers, and a necklace of what looks like rhino horns.

He looks to the woman, "Why have you brought him to us?" he asks her in their language.

She bows her head once before looking back up to him. "I was going to kill him, but there was a sign from Eywa."

"I have said" the chief boomed, "that no dream walker will come here. His alien smell fills my nose." The people laughed at their chiefs comment, but Rumford was becoming frustrated.

He looked up to the woman, "What's he saying?"

She looked down at him with something akin to pity in her eyes, "My father is deciding whether to kill you" she told him honestly.

Rumford gulped as another, more powerful voice came from the spiral of branches that acted as stairs. "Step back!" the voice shouts in Na'vi, then a woman appears, who Rumford assumes is the chief's wife. "I will look at this alien."

"That is mother" the woman tells Rumford, "she is Tsahik, the one who interprets the will of Eywa."

"Who's Eywa?" he asked, but didn't get an answer.

The chief's wife pulls him onto his feet, and begins to circle him. She wraps his tail around her wrist, and then his braid. "What are you called?" she asks him in English.

Rumford gulps, but answers. "Rumford Gold."

She produces a thorn and pricks him with it, letting the blood drip onto her tongue. "Why did you come to us?"

"I came to learn" he says shyly.

"We have tried to teach other sky people, it is hard to fill a cup which is already full."

Rumford smiles at that, and even laughs a bit. "My cup's empty, trust me, I'm no scientist, just ask Regina."

"Then what are you?" she asks.

"I was a General." He stopped, realizing they might not have a clear picture of what that is. "I was a warrior, and a father" he added as a spur of the moment decision.

The chief speaks up then, addressing his people, "This is the first warrior dream walker we have seen, we will study him, we need to learn more about him."

The Tsahik walks over to her daughter and they speak in Na'vi. Rumford watches as the woman who saved his life cringes and tries to protest, but is silenced by her mother.

"It is decided" the Tsahik speaks to him, "my daughter will teach you our ways. Learn well Rumford Gold, and we will see if your insanity can be cured." Rumford could do nothing but nod, as he was taken by his savior to get changed.

She had commanded him to strip, and though slightly embarrassed at first, he did as she told him. He did have a nasty bite mark on his shoulder though, and she was working on cleaning it for him.

"So, you never did tell me your name" he said, trying to start a conversation,

She sighed, leaving him to retrieve a piece of cloth to bandage his wound. "Bellina" she told him softly. "And you are Rumford?" she asked, and he nodded. "It is a strange name" she told him.

"Yes, I know. I was named after my grandfather" he told her.

She tied off his bandage, "Well I might just call you scoun then" she teased him.

"What does scoun mean in English?" he asked her.

She smiled impishly at him, "Moron."

Rumford laughed, "Well I might just call you Belle for short." She smiled, but said nothing about his nickname for her as she lead him back up to where the people were now sitting around a fire, eating dinner. Belle pushed him down in an open spot, and squatted next to him.

After dinner she lead him up the spiral, and onto a branch that held their hammocks. He watched as she leapt and swung into her cot, and he repeated the motions. He laid on his side, looking at her. She looked at him briefly, before turning away from him and closing her hammock so she was in a sheer cocoon. Rumford laid on his back, and pulled one side of his own hammock over, and it did the same to him.

After the longest day of his life, Rumford finally closed his eyes, only having to wake back up again in his human body. Regina was leaning over him, slapping the side of his face. "Come on back" she told him pulling him up into a sitting position. "You were dug in like a tick" she joked. Rumford shook his head, looking around, finally realizing where he was. "Is the Avatar safe?" Regina asked him.

Rumford smirked, "Oh yes, and you'll never believe where I am!"


	3. Learning

As they entered the link room the next morning Regina kept showing Rumford pictures of the clan members that held the most power. The first picture was of the clan leader, Mo' fen. The next was Gas' tou, the future clan leader. Then Catina, the spiritual leader. Last was a picture of Bellina, the chief's daughter and future spiritual leader.

Rumford removed his prosthetic leg and got into the link. "So who's this Eywa?" he asked.

David huffed, his arms crossing tightly across his chest. "Who's Eywa!? She's only their deity. Their goddess made up of all living things. You'd know that if you had any training what so ever."

Rumford could sense his jealousy, and instead of being a mature adult, decided to aggravate the scientists further. "Who's got a date with the chief's daughter?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Regina stepped in at this point, scowling. "That's enough! Jesus, it's like you two are in kindergarten." David stocked off and Regina began setting up the link. "Bellina was my best student, her and her sister."

Rumford nodded, "I don't believe I met her sister" he said.

Regina paused, her hand going still. "No, she's dead" she said quietly. She shakes off whatever feeling had come over her and proceeded to work. She gestured for him to lie down. "Okay let's go, village life starts early." Rumford laid back as Regina began to pull the cover down. "Don't do anything unusually stupid" she instructed. Whatever snarky retort Rumford said was lost as he was locked into the link.

Rumford wakes up in his avatar body, still in the hammock. He notices immediately that Bellina is not there. He spends five minutes trying to climb out of the hammock and onto the tree branches. When he finally manages it, he begins to walk down to the base of the tree. On his way he sees relatively normal activities being conducted. A mother nursing her child. Men cleaning fish they have caught. Children laugh and playing, running in circles around a patch of flowers. Then he sees Bellina. She's a distance away, by what he thinks are horses. He makes his way to her and she nods her head to him as a form of greeting.

His first lesson is horseback riding. That he did not expect. He mounted the beast clumsily. The animal's antenna, (and since when did horses have antenna?), extended back and knocked him in the head. He took hold of it and he saw the same, strange rat tail things that came out of his hair. For some reason he knew that he needed to connect his ponytail to the horse's antenna. When he did there was a great shock that went through his body. He could tell the horse felt it too, in fact, he could feel everything the horse felt.

Bellina rested her hand on the horse's head and addressed him. "That is shahaylu, the bond. Feel her. Feel her breath. Feel her strong legs." Rumford closed his eyes and followed her instructions. "You may tell her what to do, inside. For now," she said stepping back, "say where to go."

Rumford opened his eyes and very tentatively said, "Forward." Not a second later he was on the ground, having been thrown from the horse. He stood, trying to brush the mud off of his knees and ass.

Gas' tou was watching the lesson from the edge of the forest with his hunting party with disdain. He rode his horse over to where Rumford had fallen and was still trying to put himself back together. "You should go away!" Gas' tou said to him.

Rumford scoffed and turned to Bellina who had brought the horse back to him. "I knew he could speak English" he told her.

Gas' tou looked to Bellina, and spoke to her in Na' vi. "This alien will learn nothing. A rock sees more" he told her.

Bellina sighed in agreement, before sending his horse off with a light smack on its backside. She turned back to Rumford, "Again" she demanded of him. He had fallen off the horse in almost every way possible, and each time he fell, the ground got harder.

xxxxxxxxxx

That night, back in the lab, Rumford was standing there with his duffle bag. Regina walked in with her own and placed it on the floor next to his, and began collecting some items from various desks. "So, where are we going?" Rumford asked her.

Regina mumbled something under her breath, something that resembled a curse. "The dear old General is interested in your developments. I'm not about to let him try and micro-manage this thing. So we are getting out of dodge. There's a station way out in the mountains" she explained to him.

David, who had just arrived perked up. "The Hallelujah mountains?" he asked.

"That's right" Regina confirmed.

David turned to Rumford. They were still on unfriendly terms. "The legendary floating mountains of Pandora, heard of them?" he asked sarcastically.

Rumford acted as a door gun, even though he was told it wasn't necessary. He needed to feel the wind blowing hard on his skin. The avatar act was beginning to get t him. He hadn't slept properly in three days, and he was having trouble keeping up with the two worlds, and his journey was just beginning. He was completely lost in his thoughts when the fog broke and their small aircraft was surrounded by mountains. Floating mountains! There were waterfalls and lush green grass atop them. Rumford was having trouble believing that he wasn't in a dream.

They landed next to a small station that looked similar to an old RV camper. It was very early in the morning and as soon as they had unpacked their supplies, Rumford was in his link, totally unprepared for his training.

When he woke in his avatar body, he was pleased to see that Bellina was still in the hammock next to his. She awoke as soon as he did and was immediately barking orders at him. They grabbed some fruit and made their way to the horses. The silence was awkward, so he decided to break it.

"So, do you mind if I just call you Belle for short?" he asked her.

She stopped, looking at him with wide eyes. "What do I call you for short?" she asked him back.

He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking of a response. "Well, most people call me Gold."

She scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Gold is material, not name" she pointed out to him.

"My first name is Rumford. I don't see how that's much better" he laughed.

"Then if you call me Belle, I call you Rum." She said nothing else on the matter, but kept walking, not giving him the chance to argue. Rumford followed her, but to his surprise she didn't stop at the horses. She was leading him into the forest.

"Umm, where are we going?" he asked, struggling to not trip over the roots of the trees.

"I must show you the forest" she said. Rumford realized after a very tiresome trek that she did not mean to show him the sights. She was trying to show him the importance of the forest. "I know that this body is not you" she told him. Rumford wasn't too baffled by the admission, but he remained silent. "Things you say, things you see, that is you, no?"

"Yes" he answered quietly.

"You are usually much smaller, in your size. Your people wear strange armor. They carry strange weapons. They kill." Her voice was strong, but Rumford could tell that she spoke from pain.

"Your sister" he said. "Regina told me, you lost her." She was silent. "My people, don't only kill your people. I lost my son."

She turned to face him. "Death, is also life. It returns energy and helps create the great balance. Killing only takes energy, and gives it to the life who killed. It throws off the balance." Rumford took a step closer to her. "I do not trust you" she told him.

"I don't expect you to" he said honestly. "The only reason I'm here is to learn. To help."

"I want to show you something, Rum." It was the first time she had used his name, and Rumford loved the sound of it. Before he could blink though, she was running back in the direction from which they came. He tried in vain to keep up with her, but was quite a few steps behind. She lead him back into the tree and proceeded to run up the winding staircase of branches. Rumford never noticed just how large the tree was. It took several minutes just to make it half way up. By the time they did make it to the top he was ready to collapse. He noticed that Belle wasn't even slightly winded.

She made a weird noise, similar to a bird call. The leaves of the tree began to ruffle. Then, out of nowhere, something akin to a dragon flew out from behind the branches. It spread it's wings wide before sinking it's claws into the bark. "Holy shit!" Rumford screamed.

Belle looked back to him, a serious look upon a her face. "Do not look in her eye" she instructed. Rumford gulped and cast his eyes down immediately. Belle walked up casually to the animal, stroking the top of it's head as it bowed down to her. "Ikran is not horse" she said, walking around to it's side, mounting the animal. "Once shahaylu is made, ikran will fly with only one hunter, in the whole life." Rumford chances a glance up to Belle, watching her interact with what seems to be her pet. "To become taranyu, hunter, you must choose your own ikran and he must choose you."

Rumford nods excitedly, "When?"

Belle smiles at him, "When you are ready." The banshee shivers in anticipation as it lifts off the branch. "Heeyyaaahh!" Belle screams, and the ikran takes off, slicing through the air at break-neck speed. Rumford crawls over to the edge of the branch, looking down at the magnificent display Belle is giving him.

Weeks pass. Rumford spends his days hunting, running, climbing, free-falling from the tallest of trees. He learns to read the trails, the track of the water holes. He knows that with Belle, it's learn fast or die. She's like a spider monkey running and leaping from tree to tree, and Rumford struggles to keep up with her most days. David's attitude improved towards him, he even started helping him with the language.

"I see you" David tells him.

"I see you" Rumford says frustrated, not understanding the concept.

David shakes his head, "It's not just, I see you in front of me, it's I see into you. I see you."

Rumford drops his head into his hands and rubs his temple.

He had convinced Belle to persuade her father into letting Regina back into the village. He could tell how much she missed the people, and while Rumford thought she was nothing but a pain in his ass, he knew she was very attached to these people.

His days were completely blurred together. He was starting to have trouble figuring out what was real or not. When he was in his avatar's body, he felt as though the world was right, that everything had a purpose and that peace and comfort were reachable. When he was in his human body, everything about the world felt wrong. He wasn't dealing well at all with his mind's transitions.

Even though he has been taught how to hunt, he hasn't been allowed to make a kill. Belle had told him that it was because the forest hasn't given him permission yet. Then she went on to tell him, "When you hear nothing, you will hear everything. When you see nothing, you will See everything."

As more weeks pass, Rumford can see Belle's walls begin to crack for him. There was one night in particular. They went for a walk after dinner and came across a clearing where hundreds of fan lizards laid on the ground. When Belle stepped into the clearing they all began flying about. Swirls of bright oranges and pinks filled the sky and Rumford watched as Belle hopped around in delight, squealing and laughing as if she were a small child. He knew then that he had gained her trust. She let her guard down with him, and he enjoyed finally seeing the real her.

The day after, Belle took him out to hunt. They came across a deer, the people call them hexapedes. Rumford didn't know what possessed him, but there was something about the way the morning dew dripped from the leaves onto his shoulders. The way the soil felt beneath his feet. He drew his bow, and the deer looked him in the eye, he took a breath and let it go. His head snapped up, shocked that he hadn't missed.

He ran to the still squirming animal, Belle close behind him. He unsheathed his knife and ended the deer's misery. He removed the arrow and hesitantly spoke, "I See you brother. I thank you. Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind, to become a part of the people."

Belle watched him with approval. "A clean kill" she tells him. He looks to her, a small smile on his face. "You are ready."


End file.
